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October 2008 FYI

For your calendar

                     IOGA annual meeting—primary dates are December 9-12, Boise Red Lion Downtowner.                                         The Red Lion will provide a breakfast buffet in the restaurant as well as additional wait staff in both the restaurant and lounge for the IOGA meeting this fall.  Reservations must be made by December 1, 2008 to receive the IOGA room rate of $69 per night single or double occupancy. Remember, your lodging at the Red Lion Downtowner will assist IOGA in avoiding additional costs related to the meeting. For reservations, call 208.344.7691 and be certain to tell them you are with IOGA.

                     Idaho Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board Meeting—December 8-9, Boise.

  • IDFG Commission Meeting—November 5-7, Lewiston.

IOGA's 3nd Annual “Images of Idaho” Photo Contest

 

IOGA is proud to announce our third annual photo contest. The contest is held each year at the IOGA Winter Meeting and is open to all IOGA members. Contestants are allowed a maximum of three (3) entries for the contest. The categories are:

 

  • Idaho ‘Scenic Lands/Waters'
  • Idaho ‘Wildlife/Animals'
  • Idaho ‘Characters'
  • Idaho ‘Experiences
  • Idaho ‘Humor'

 

A $10 Entry Fee will be charged for each entry.  Prizes and/or cash will be awarded for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. There will be three judges. Photos sent to the IOGA office must be received prior to the IOGA annual December meeting, December 9-11, 2008. No email entries will be accepted. Photos can also be brought to the Winter Meeting. Contact Jane Bruesch at idoutfitt@cableone.net for Contest Rules and Entry Form and/or visit the IOGA website at http://www.ioga.org/imagesofidahocontest.aspx  Go to your files, get out those shots….and who knows….YOU might just win some dough! 

Short takes

-            Reserve lodging for the annual IOGA December 9-11, 2008 meeting by contacting the Red Lion Downtowner Hotel at 208.344.7691. Mention that you are with IOGA. Rates are $69, not including taxes, single or double occupancy, with a cut-off date of December 1, 2008.

-         Important: IOGA is accepting nominations for one of the three outfitter/guide positions on the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board. The term of incumbent outfitter IOGLB member Will Judge expires in April 2009. The IOGA process for selection of names to send to Governor Butch Otter includes a written and oral interview with the IOGA board of directors on December 12, 2008. Candidates must have five years experience as a licensed outfitter/guide to be considered. For more information and/or to nominate someone including yourself, contact Grant Simonds at gsimonds@cableone.net

-         IOGA is currently accepting nominations from its membership for the 2008 Resource Manager of the Year award. This award has been presented since 1988 during the annual December meeting to a state or federal resource management agency person who exemplifies building understanding, communication and trust in their activities as a resource manager with the industry. Send your nomination along with a short nomination letter to Grant Simonds at gsimonds@cableone.net by November 15th.

-            IOGA is currently accepting nominations regarding a relatively new award called the “Partnership Award”. Basically, this is an award given to a group of agency persons regarding “actions and decisions supportive of the outfitter industry way of life”. Send your nomination along with a short nomination letter to Grant Simonds at gsimonds@cableone.net by November 15th. This award was presented to the Salmon/Challis National Forest in December of 2007 and read: In appreciation of Forest employees actions and communication that demonstrated concern and support of the outfitter industry way of life. Notable actions and decisions include, but are not limited to: Constant and timely communication with individual outfitters and the IOGA Executive Director during the fire season of 2007

-            Just a reminder that 2009 membership dues by October 31, 2008 in order to be listed in the 2009 IOGA Directory of Guided Outdoor Adventures, distribution of 20,000.  Our goal each year is to list contact information for as many members as possible. Non-members are listed with referral to the IOGLB website. If you aren't sure if your membership is current and/or are interested in joining IOGA, contact Janey Bruesch at 208.342.1438 or idoutfitt@cableone.net Membership applications and benefits can also be found at www.ioga.org

-            The Red Rock Bighorn Sheep Viewing Station, located north of Salmon on Highway 93, was formally dedicated on October 1. The site includes a kiosk with information on bighorn sheep and a viewing scope. Dick Nachbar facilitated the ceremony which included a ribbon-cutting by Winn and Betty Turner who donated the land. IOGA members attending included Grant Simonds, Louise Stark, Alison Steen and retired outfitters Stan and Joy Potts. IOGA, Idaho FNAWS and other contributors will be recognized on a yet to be installed plaque. This project is about raising the social value of Idaho's bighorn sheep and is a public relations feather in the cap for all those who have made this project happen.      

Speaking of Idaho's wild sheep, the Idaho Fish and Game Department has begun the process to update the management plan. An online survey was recently put on the IDFG website at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/apps/surveys/08bighornSheep/  The survey is also accessed from the IDFG home page by clicking on “public involvement”. Sheep outfitters may want to encourage their clients to provide input.

-            Check out your licensed activities and operating areas on IOGLB site. The Licensing Board, with multiple partners, has a Find an Outfitter link (http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/ifwis/ioglb/) on their website that lists outfitted activities and licensed areas of operation. Incorrect information regarding your listing can be corrected. Contact Jake Howard (jake.howard@oglb.state.gov to make arrangements.

-            Fish and Game Commission to meet at the Clearwater region office in Lewiston, November 5-7. A public hearing will start at 7 p.m. on November 5. Regular commission business gets underway at 8 a.m. Thursday, November 6 and will continue Friday, November 7, if necessary. Routine items on the agenda include a report on nonresident deer and elk tag quotas; nonresident deer and elk tag outfitter set-aside; appointing a commission representative to the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies; ratifying rules; electing a commission chairman and vice-chairman; and setting the commission calendar for 2009. IOGA's Grant Simonds will check with IDFG Boise Bureau persons in advance of the November meeting to confirm Department recommendations on non-resident deer and elk tag quotas and nonresident deer and elk tag outfitter set-aside numbers.                                 

                The outfitter set-aside system has been in place since legislative passage in 1986, a major IOGA achievement at a time when non-resident tags were selling out by the end of February-early March. The set-aside system provides up to 25 percent of the total number of non-resident deer and elk tags for clients of outfitters on a first-come, first-serve basis through June 30th of each year. The purpose of the set-aside is to recognize outfitter industry need for a marketing period and recognizes historic use of these tags by the industry. During the past decade, non-resident deer and elk tags have not sold out before June 30th.

Don't confuse set-aside with allocation of tags, a different system that is focused on elk tag availability in the current five elk management zones that have restricted opportunity: Lolo, Selway, Dworshak, Elk City and the Middle Fork. IOGA was successful at the Statehouse in 1997 regarding passage of a bill to enable the allocation system. Approximately 60 hunt outfitters benefit from the allocation system which also includes controlled hunt tags in units with outfitters.

Speaking of allocation, the IOGLB's Allocation Manual has been updated and a session on the changes in the manual will occur during the IOGA Hunt Section meeting, December 9-11. A big thanks is in order to IOGA members Scott Farr and Will Judge who spent many hours of personal time in shaping and shepherding the manual changes as IOGLB members through the IOGLB. The updated allocation manual can be found on the IOGLB website at http://www.oglb.idaho.gov/allocations.htm

By the way, IOGA was responsible through a “lobby” effort prior to the March 2008 Commission meeting for “saving” allocated controlled hunts that were proposed to be eliminated for 2008 for a half dozen or so hunt outfitters, members and non-members. IOGA pointed out to the IDFG directors and commissioners that several Department regional proposals would significantly impact guided hunting opportunity and that the industry needs more advance notice than one month in order to make adjustments. Gross revenue, provided these hunts were booked, is estimated to be in excess of $100,000. These are highly prized hunts and very helpful toward assisting small businesses to remain viable. Controlled hunt outfitters with an allocation need to be aware of the March 2008 IDFG Commission motion (decision) on this topic. Check out the March 2008 Commission meeting minutes on page 14 at this link and save this for future reference as it represents a refinement and interpretation of the allocation process.  http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/about/commission/2008/mar5.pdf 

 Update on Some IOGA Priorities for 2008

-Priority--Focus on national/federal issues such as--

  • Work to revise proposed Forest Service Directive on outfitter permitting—The IOGA has closely monitored this Forest Service re-write and kept its members fully informed since the proposed Directive was made available nearly a year ago. Those members who provided formal comment to the Forest Service are to be commended.  Overall, my impression is that the results are generally conducive to maintaining a viable traditional Idaho outfitter and guide industry. The notions of “common pool”, “fee bidding” along with other anti-industry ideas are not recognized in this Directive. Of course, “interpretation” at the local unit of the Forest Service will be crucial.  IOGA will host a session during our annual December 9-11 meeting on interpreting the new directive and handbook including a comparison with the old policy. Forest Service persons and David Brown of America Outdoors have been invited for this session.   

 

    • The Final Directives for Forest Service Outfitting and Guiding Special Use Permits and Insurance Requirements for Forest Service Special Use Permits were printed in the Federal Register (see attached) on September 17, 2008. As important is the updated excerpt of the Forest Service Handbook on the same topic (see attached). Since nearly all IOGA members are permitted by the Forest Service to operate on lands and water administered by the Forest Service, it is advisable that members maintain both of these documents for future reference. Be sure and read the attachment by David Brown entitled, “The Lowdown on the New Forest Service Permitting Directives”.

 

Some items to note in the Federal Register notice and Handbook include, but are not limited to:

 

    • In response to an IOGA comment on the proposed Directive, the September Federal Register notice says “if a state requires licensing for outfitters and guides, the Forest Service will require the holder to obtain a state license to be eligible for a Forest Service permit.” The Idaho Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board and the federal agencies have a Memorandum of Understanding (http://www.oglb.idaho.gov/statutes.htm) that includes agreement on the number of outfitters on various classified sections of rivers. Also, the IOGLB assigns areas of operation for big game outfitters that is unique to Idaho.  

                                                   

The updated Forest Service Handbook says that temporary use applicants, profit or non-profit, must describe their technical and financial qualifications to provide the services they may be proposing. Additionally, temporary use permittees must have an operating plan that addresses public health and safety, emergency procedures and resource protection. However, a performance evaluation is not required.

 

    • IOGA members who operate on rivers managed by the number of launches allocated will find that the agency has provided a definition for the term “Quota” which specifically mentions “the number of launches per day….”

 

    • Both the Federal Register notice and the Handbook make reference to the “applicable land management plan guidance”. Check out the Handbook “Objectives” section, the definition of “Quota” and section 41.53m that is titled Allocation of Use for Priority Use Permits.  This will become important during review of actual use during permit renewal time for individual outfitters. For instance, the Frank Church River of No Return Management Plan of 2004 contains reference to utilization rates of 70 percent of launches during three consecutive years during the previous five years. 

 

    • Conversion of temporary use, particularly during shoulder seasons, to priority use will be topic of high interest during the IOGA December meeting session on Directive interpretation.                                          

 

By the way, one of IOGA's accomplishments this year was spearheaded by IOGA River Section Vice President Al Bukowsky and Grant Simonds when they organized a special spring meeting of Middle Fork outfitters and the Forest Service that led to an agency decision to convert pre-season launch dates (early June ones) to priority use with the attendant existing management plan use requirements.

 

    • The definition and interpretation of “Permitted Access Route” and its implications for operating plans and annual itineraries will be of interest to land-based outfitters. Also of note, is that the Forest Service has reiterated that the assignment of campsites remains a management tool available. Some respondents (guess who-) proposed that no assigned sites be set aside for outfitters and guides. Land-based outfitters and some river outfitters (S. Fork Snake, Lochsa) utilize assigned sites. Many outfitters need the assurance that they will have a specific campsite location for their clients. Outfitters pay a fee for the use of these assigned sites often located off the beaten track to minimize conflict with the unguided public along with compliance with  campsite operation standards.

 

    • While the new Directive and updated Handbook mentions the objective of facilitation of “greater participation by organizations and businesses that work with youth and educational groups” the Forest Service “does not believe that it would be appropriate….to address assistance to universities in finding suitable wilderness areas for outfitting and guiding.” Any broadening of the spectrum of services and providers would be determined through a needs assessment and no new category of use for educational outfitters and guides has been created.

 

    • The Forest Service will be conducting training for its permit administrators on the new Directive and Handbook, presumably in advance of the IOGA December meeting. 

 

- Priority--Continue to improve the IOGA website with focus on restructuring the fishing pages

 

Expect to see a new updated fishing section of the IOGA website by the end of October/early November. Once completed, our website will be improved so that searches for fishing outfitters are separated into four categories: Steelhead/Salmon; Lakes/Reservoirs; Summer Pack Trips and Rivers. Descriptive content for each of these categories will be updated. Databases are being reorganized to reflect these four categories. Two maps, lakes/reservoirs and rivers, are being created that will be clickable or interactive. We wish to thank the gracious support of IOGA members who have provided fishing photos for this update, many of which will be utilized.

 

- Priority—Stay involved with the Owyhee Initiative legislation

 

It appears that Congress will convene after the November election. This could be the window for Idaho Senator Mike Crapo's  Owyhee Public Lands Act, S. 2833, to pass muster as part of a larger package of lands bill. IOGA has been involved in this collaborative process since 2001.

 

- Priority—Monitor Coast Guard reauthorization bill will an eye toward stripping provision that would provide authorization for sales tax on navigable waterways.

 

So far, no news is good news. House and Senate versions of this bill are different with one being favorable to the industry.

- Priority--Be a part of the solution regarding potential state efforts to enact non-motorized boat registration fee. Oppose legislation should it emerge.

 

IOGA and the Idaho Whitewater Association, an organization of private float boaters, among others, were instrumental during June and July meetings of a work group convened by the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, in pointing out that there is little or no need to tax non-motorized boaters for facilities that already exist. For now, the Governors Office has backed off such a proposal. In the meantime, the IOGA and the IWA are working together to create an informational package for future use should this issue surface again, as it has off-and-on since the early 1990s. 

 

Welcome to IOGA  New Members ---September 12, 2008 to October 8, 2008

 

Outfitters

 

Rowdy Davis

Big Timber Outfitters

P O Box 246

Salmon ID  83467

208.756.1020

bigtimberidaho@msn.com

www.bigtimberidaho.com

Hunting, Fishing, Trail rides, Snowmobiling.  F&G Unit 29.  Purchased from Gary Madsen, 4x4 Outfitter

 

Business Associate Members

 

 

Mike Dorris

Sawtooth Flying Service

111 Finn Church Lane

McCall, ID  83638

800.798.6105

brandnewday@frontiernet.net

www.sawtoothflying.com

Complete air transportation for backcountry and inter-city destinations

 

Jean Berg

Spokane Airport Ramada

P O Box 19230

Spokane, WA 99219

509.838.5211    Fax:  509.838.1074

Jeanberg703@hotmail.com

www.the.ramada.com/spokane00207

Hotel

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